A New You: Wipe the sand from your feet and move onward

It was a beautiful weekend afternoon and my children and I decided to take a car ride to the beach. The eastern sky was clear and was a gorgeous sapphire blue. When we arrived, I took a deep breath, as we gazed out at the picturesque skyline.
The spring air was sweet, and together we walked to the ocean’s edge. Progressively, the waves washed upon the sand, and we heard the steady sounds of the whispering winds, the rasp of the breeze off the dune grasses, and the cry of a dozen sea gulls.
My youngest daughter was carrying a bright yellow pail so we could collect seashells and stones. And with delight, I felt the sun warm my back, as I bent down and picked up a white, smooth stone and handed it to her. On bended knee, I picked up one more and gently placed the stone in my daughter’s beach pail. Then, the girls followed suit. One after another they began to gather uniquely shaped beach shells and stones.
Within a short amount of time, the pail was filled to the top. And as I looked at the stones, I remembered a letter that I received from a dear reader. He had written to me saying, “A new beginning is long overdue in my life and I know that it has been delayed because I have been holding on to past hurts.”
Thereafter, the reader went on to tell me in his note of a memorable story that he heard from his sister-in-law. His sister-in-law had once read about a person who, every time was insulted or treated badly, would bend over and pick up a stone to keep track of the hurt. Over the years, as you can imagine, this person had collected quite a pile of stones.
Reminiscing, the reader wrote, “Yes, Catherine I have been collecting stones for many years… and when someone would throw another stone at me, I would go to my pile of stones and place the new stone on top of the pile.
“While there, I would recognize stones from the past and they would remind me of that particular hurt and then another one and another one. I found myself keeping these stones as evidence to prove the injustices that I had suffered over the years of my life. But all I was doing was adding the weight of all these stones for me to carry.
“Healing takes time, and God has giving me that time to heal each of these hurts so I can throw these stones away. Now, when I see one of these stones, I still remember what it represented, but I have no pain, the scars are healing.
“When someone throws a stone at me now, it still hurts and I still bend over to pick up it up… but now I hand it to God.”
Are you holding on to hurts or regrets? Is there something that happened in the past that you can’t get beyond?
Maybe you have faced obstacles. You might have had your share of discouraging or unfair circumstances. Run down and tired, now you could be emotionally exhausted. For then it can be easy to get sidetracked from living your best possible life.
But don’t use past negative situations as justification to cause you to give up on yourself, on your heart’s dreams, or on your happiness and plans for the future. Today is a new day, a new beginning. So forgive and forget grievances. Let go of what didn’t work out. Pardon and overlook offenses. Take the high road and stop dwelling on and frequently retelling to others what transpired. Place the hurts, worries, and your hopes and dreams in God’s capable Hands. There is a peace and a freedom that comes when you ‘let go’ and ‘let God.’
Last year, a friend of mine trusted a small group of individuals, and they unscrupulously blind-sided and wronged her in a business venture. She had spent many years on this endeavor, and the deceit hurt her tremendously. However, rather than holding a grudge, my friend said with faith, “God, I forgive them.” Then, she thanked God that He was at work in her life, and she continued pursuing her goals.
Scripture tell us that when we forgive those who hurt us and choose to love them; God promises to reward us for it. A few months later, God indeed rewarded my friend with even more than double in her career and blessed her in her personal life. “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” (Isaiah 61:7).
No matter what has happened, God has not finished His work in your life. With God, there is no situation over which you cannot prevail. So trust Him and press on. God can move anywhere, anytime, and in any way that He chooses; and similar to my friend, you’ll emerge better than before.
Booker T. Washington once noted, “You cannot ever judge success by what position you have, you can only judge success by what you have had to overcome to get there.”
When you are walking down the road of life, there may be challenges ahead. Yet, there will always be a divine Hand to guide you along the way and direct your steps. Thus, wipe the sand from your feet and move onward. Miracles are in the making. God is going to send you new opportunities, new friendships, and new blessings that will fill your heart with joy. Expect them, believe in them. For, “Now is the time of God’s favor … now is the day of salvation.” (1 Corinthians 6:2).
And as you go forward, if someone throws a stone at you, bend over, pick it up … and hand it to God.

cgv@anewyouworldwide.com

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About the Author

For more from inspirational columnist Catherine Galasso-Vigorito, visit www.anewyouworldwide.com. Reach the author at cgv@anewyouworldwide.com
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